Remorse
by PlasticClown
Summary: KHYYH crossover After shutting Kingdom Hearts, Riku finds himself suddenly in Genkai's temple. Worried for his friends, Riku must fight the Heartless alone, unsuspecting of the new friends beside him.
1. No more Riku

DXP: I got the idea for this story from fanfictiondotnet user, Amber Komasaki and her story, "Fleeting Hope". It really was a great inspiration for this story, so I hope you all give her the praise before you give any to me. Thanks, Amber-chan!

DXP does not own Riku, Kingdom Hearts, or Yuu Yuu Hakusho. Most of my knowledge of YYH (because I haven't watched it in a while...) comes from various internet sites and absoluteanime. All of my Riku knowledge comes from KHInsider, my own understanding of him, and my own way of viewing him. Characters are intended to be kept in character, but there may be moments regarding the situation that characters act out-of-character. Please excuse those.

This is a serious work, and I most likely will have more KH and YYH cameos. I do accept ideas, flames, reviews, and _especially_ constructive critism. And just to let hardcore flamers know, I get a writing streak out of flames:)

* * *

**_Remorse_**

_"Yesterday is but a memory  
Tomorrow an uncharted course  
So live today so it will be  
A memory without remorse"  
-- Unknown_

He just had to seal the door to Kingdom Hearts. That was the only responsibility left for him, and he had intended to keep up with it to the fullest. The King and his Keyblade were by his side, and with the Oblivion in his hands, he would surely be able to take down all of the Darksides, no matter how many were thrown at him.

But he saw _his_ face, and _her_ smile. In the escaping light, he saw them slide away and away, out of his grasp in a slow, tormenting retreat. The eerie glow of hands that he once use to hold and caress, slowly diminishing into nothing.

The King was calling to him to gain his senses, and to help fight the Darkside. He knew that he was needed, as the King would never be able to defend them both. But the darkness was a never-ending night, and thus sleep seemed to be in order.

A stagger of his feet and he almost tripped over the empty floor. He reached out to grab something, anything that would be of use, and instead found nothing once more. He bit back the bitter laugh that threatened to escape his mouth as he looked at the irony in the entire situation as he landed on the invisible floor.

It wasn't always irony, perhaps. It had been for a good cause at first; but for him to have called the Heartless into him and to have been taken by _their_ power, even though he knew they were the ones at fault. _That_ was the irony. He joined the thing he hated so much to save something already saved. And then he couldn't help his own feelings of being alone and used.

Countless times he had wondered and wished, wondering why he couldn't of been the one with the spiraling dreams that Sora had. …But he had, to be honest. His dreams were completely black, and though he fell, he never had anything to land on. There was never any sound, and never anyone there to catch him or help him down. Seeing that he was alone in his dreams frightened him, and he always reached out his hand, hoping somebody would grab hold and pull him up.

He fled to the comfort that Kairi and him would be together. That she would be there for him. But she had been stolen--no…she had given herself to Sora, letting their hearts intertwine as to not be ripped apart by outer forces. Outer forces meant him more then the Heartless, and that notion almost made him vomit.

"Riku! Riku, grab a' hold of yourself!" the King shouted, letting his large hands wrap around Riku's shoulders as he made to help the other stand. Riku stumbled to his feet, shutting his eyes and breathing slow and deep. "I'm…ok." he lied, opening his emerald eyes and looking down at the King, Mickey Mouse.

Though the mouse didn't show the unbelieving look, it was clear in the way he ordered the next instructions that Riku wasn't believed. The silver-haired teen didn't seem to care and blew it off. He clutched the oblivion in his hand while the King grasped his Keyblade.

"GO!" the King shouted, and both shot out towards the Darksides on the opposite sides of the room. Riku slaughtered them by the two's while the King by the three's.

The dance continued for hours, it seemed, though only a couple had passed. Sweat dripped profusely from both, and more Darksides arose even still. There were no green energy balls or small, pestering Heartless here. It was take them on with what you have left, and both sides were fighting a losing battle.

The hits came one by one, and the blows came in successive motions that Riku couldn't block. Almost at the end of his rope, Riku held up his Oblivion to block anymore attacks. The King was already out.

All of the Darksides began to summon the energy into their empty chests. They arched their backs and gave out a sicken scream, using all of their powers combined to create waves and waves of spheres of the dark energy. Riku gasped, breathing now shaky as he prepared himself to run. There would be no way to avoid all of them, the teen knew, but he had to try.

A growl in place, the teen began to run straight towards the patches of just darkness, not allowing the semi-lit orbs to catch up to him. However, his weak and tired bones couldn't keep up with his actions, and he was forced to slow.

Riku shut his eyes as pain collided with him. He was brought into the air and thrown, just to collide with another orb. It continuously went on like that, where he was thrown into another and another, like a broken pinball machine.

Enough was enough, Riku decided as he felt his energy depleting. He shut his eyes tightly and let out a horrible scream. His body filled with light so intense that the Darksides no longer had any more orbs to let out. There were no more Darksides.

In fact, there was no more Riku.

* * *

Like his dreams, his body sank and sank and sank into the darkness. He thought of outstretching his arm, like he always did, but other thoughts told him not to. For once, he had voices.

"_Come over here, deary…"_

He gave out an involuntary shiver at the old witch's voice. He imagined her hand waving towards him, beckoning him back to her once more. He tightened his eyes.

_Fight the voices. They'll hold you back_.

Another voice, now. Much more warmer, but very salty and old. He wanted to reach out for it, and his hand twitched in compliance. However, he quickly retreated back into himself when another voice sprang up.

"_Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I'll help you find what you're searching for…"_

"No!" He thought, bringing his hands over his body to hug himself. "No more of you, Maleficent!"

_Yes! Fight her!_ the old woman's voice exclaimed, though it still held it's mono tone.

"Who…are you…?" Riku asked, trying to painfully rip his head away from thoughts of Maleficent. There was still more darkness, but more and more light shined through.

_Your savior_.

A gasp emitted from shock opened Riku's eyes and he suddenly realized he had been the one gasping. He erupted into a fit of coughing, and he sat up to try and calm himself.

"Drink this." the same voice came, and Riku immediately made a grab for the water. He began to bring it to his mouth, but it was knocked back as he continued with his coughing. The water fell to the floor and onto the futon that Riku currently sat on.

His head throbbed, and he felt incredibly sick. He stopped his coughing in small gasps of air and looked around. Through his dizzy eyes, he saw he was no longer in Kingdom Hearts. He was in a room, plain besides the small entertainment center holding a box in the corner of the room. Clearing his vision as best he could, Riku also noticed the short table filled with a pitcher of water and a few items that were foreign to him. Pillows were scattered across the bamboo floor and a mattress covered the bottom of the table, as if hiding something underneath it.

He turned his head slowly, seeing a person that seemed to be old enough to be his grandmother. However, fever clouded his vision and all he could think of the women was that she was his mother, and that his entire adventure had just been fever-induced.

"Mo…ther…?" he asked quietly and in a scratchy voice, the side effect of his sore and parched throat. He wasn't able to see the reaction of the women before he fell back down onto his wet futon. He hadn't passed out yet, but his face was red and he was breathing hard. Sweat came from him, profusely flowing down his face and arms. He couldn't help but shiver, and yet he felt hot the entire time.

The older women, clearly startled by the mistaken identity, cleared her throat before cleaning up with spilt glass of water. She poured more into the cup before taking it to Riku's lips and bringing his head up. She forced the cool water down his throat, and he only stared up at her through his blank eyes, trying to figure out what was happening. He couldn't see anymore and soon his entire vision was black.


	2. Save me from Darkness

DXP: Thanks again to Amber Komasaki! Disclaimer on first chapter

* * *

**_Remorse_**

_"It is not the experience of today that drives us mad; it is remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring"  
--Unknown_

Days had passed before Riku woke up once again, this time much more rested. His fever had disappeared while he slept, and he had awoke with no signs left over from the virus he had caught.

He sat up to find himself in the same room he had been in only days before. That had all been something of a dream now, and he couldn't remember exactly what happened. First he had been fighting Darksides, and then all he saw was a white light. Suddenly he was here, being taken care of by an old women.

The box in the corner had moving pictures that intrigued Riku to no extent. He focused his eyes on it as a couple of men joked around while playing some strange game. He understood it was a game of some sort, but he had no idea how they were able to fit people in a box like that, along with so many different backgrounds and accessories that changed in an instant.

He looked around the room once more and back at the large, though short, table that was in the middle of the room. Beside the pitcher of water that had first been there, scrolls were set up around it, and the pillows were all in place as if people had either sat there previously or were going to sit there shortly. There seemed to be three pillows on all four sides, but the ones facing him were placed in the middle on top of the other two pillows.

Along with seeing the two things that made him wonder, Riku also discovered he was wearing something else then his usual attire. It was like a robe, only more lose and less revealing. He wore long lose pants with it and socks that had a gap between his big toe and the other four. He wondered of his, and his thoughts turned to the hazy image he sported of the old women who he had seen before. He looked around the room to see his clothes clean and folded in a small pile in the corner.

A door opened, and Riku tensed. "Ah! You're awake!" the voice of a young girl came into his ears, and Riku turned his head sharply as he noticed that a blue haired girl was now crouching by his futon. "You've been sleeping for days, you know! I've done all I could to heal you, but my magic doesn't work on you at all!" she explained, speaking quickly but in a shy manner.

Riku could only blink before he frowned, looking away. This girl reminded him of Kairi, and Riku wanted almost nothing to do with her. But…that was a lie, he told himself. He wanted Kairi as much as possible. He wanted Kairi _and_ Sora, and for everything to be how it was.

"Um…" the girl said, obviously embarrassed that she couldn't hold his attention. "I'm sorry." she smiled in a shy manner, bowing from her position on the floor. "I'm Yukina."

"…Riku." he answered slowly, not knowing what else to do. Bowing wasn't something he did, _especially_ to those he didn't know. Yukina giggled, reminded of Hiei briefly before she stood. "I'm going to get Master Genkai. Please wait here."

Riku nodded as she walked quickly from the room, closing the screen door behind her. He made a slow dash for his clean clothes and went through the pockets. He sighed in relief as he pulled out a Keychain which had a black crown on it. He let his fingers roam over the texture before clutching the Keychain in his hand. He placed the chain, which was like a bracelet, around his wrist for quick access.

With nothing else to do, Riku crawled over to the Television, watching it. He found no humor in the game show, despite the fact it was categorized under comedy, and only interest in how the thing worked. He poked the screen first and was interested to see that only a static noise came from it, along with a slight shock that made him only blink. He couldn't help but lean over the box and try to find another point of entry, and instead could only find a plug connected to an outlet. He cocked his head, curious but heard footsteps approaching, ceasing his play.

He stood up and walked back to his futon. As soon as his foot landed on it, the screen door slid open quickly and an old lady walked in, followed by Yukina. The old lady simply glared at Riku. "You're awake, huh?" she asked with some feigned annoyance.

Riku said nothing and continued looking straight at her. Despite her mean appearance, Riku saw light in her heart, as well as Yukina's. These people were trust worthy, but he didn't know if he was worthy to gain the trust of someone with so much light.

"You saved me from the darkness." Riku explained after a hesitant moment. "…Thank you."

"You seem to be used to being in that darkness." Genkai replied. The silver haired teen froze, not seeing that reply. Genkai simply smiled in some amusement. "Don't worry. I won't throw you out into it anymore. That would be unfair. However, I can through you back out on the streets…"

Riku seemed a bit confused as he relaxed his muscles. "'Back out'?" he asked. Genkai shrugged. "You climbed up my steps in a drunken slur before passing out right at the shrine's entrance. I didn't think a kid like you would get so drunk, but I don't judge a book by it's cover."

Riku looked down. 'Drunk with power, maybe…' he thought. 'But this lady is speaking in riddles…'

"Where am I?" Riku asked. The older lady rolled her eyes. "Pay attention, dimwit. You're at a shrine in central Tokyo." the teen raised an eyebrow. "Tokyo? But I can't get anywhere without the use of a Gummi Ship. How'd I end up on this world…?" he mumbled to himself, his arms crossed.

Yukina paused in her outlook on his situation. "Um…Master Genkai, I don't think he was ever drunk in the first place…" the older lady frowned. "I'm beginning to think that, too. I'll go check with the toddler if he has anything on this kid, so greet the others when they get here."

Yukina nodded. "His name is Riku." she explained. "Um…I don't think he has a last name." she glanced back at the boy, who just seemed to be in his own world.

"Well," Genkai replied, shutting her eyes as she placed her hands behind her back, "whatever the case, I'll go talk to the toddler." she watched Riku a litle bit more before she turned around.

The silver haired boy decided to ignore the people and study more on his surroundings. He had seen a lot of things that had interested him when he was in different worlds, but he never had time to examine them. He decided to check the box with moving people later and move to the other things, absorbing them.

"You're free to walk around the premises, but please remain out of the surrounding forest." Yukina said with a smile. "It's dangerous out there…wild beast on the loose."

'_Heartless?_' Riku thought in some shock. Yukina smiled again, "I'll leave you alone to change into your clothes."

Riku nodded as the blue-haired girl left the room. He got his clothes and his eyes darted the room to make sure that no cameras or other recording devices were there. He then rolled his eyes, scolding himself for being so stupid. These people had seen him before when they changed him into his current outfit. Besides, he reasoned, in a life or death situation, being self-conscious was idiotic. He changed his clothes quickly.

Slipping on his gloves, Riku opened the screen door and was greeted with a large area. The building was surrounded by a wooden deck that has some pillars around it to support the roofing. The outside area was mostly sand and dirt, and then a small barrier before the damp forest that stretched on.

The air was clam, but a small breeze appeared every few seconds, causing Riku's hair to sweep up in the wind. He looked around the premises, finding everything incredibly foreign. Even the trees and smell were different from any other worlds he had been to.

He let his feet guide him around the property, and as he did so he thought of many things. One such thing was about Sora, and the other about the King. More thoughts came to him that were random, but he made sure to clear his head of any of the Heartless. He didn't want to think of them until he had to.

And hour passed and Riku continued fiddling with his Keychain, his thoughts traveling off. He looked into the dense forest and then sighed, remembered Yukina's warning.

Something flashed, and Riku stood in surprise. He quickly turned to the right, expecting Yukina or Genkai. Instead, he saw one of the things he now feared, and he froze.

Maleficent stood there, in all her "_glory_" and superiority. She watched the him, a sickening smile on her face. "Darkness…is a wonderful thing, hmm, deary?" she cooed. Riku tensed, clenching his Keychain. "You're dead." he reasoned uselessly.

"Yes…but dead means dark, and dark…" she gave an evil chuckle. "Well, that means _me_." was the reply. The old witch began to sweep over to Riku, who only let his feet guide him a few steps backwards. "I'm n-not…a-afraid of y-you." he lied.

The witch chuckled darkly again. "Stop fooling yourself, _son_." something in her change, and Maleficent was suddenly Ansem.

Riku backed up again, more desperately this time. He had wanted revenge on this guy, but all he held for him was fear. His feet stumbled and he tripped over himself. He gasped as Ansem advanced towards him. He slammed the palm of his hand on Riku's forehead.

A gasp erupted from the teen's mouth, and images flashed through his mind: Sora, Kairi, Maleficent, the King, Ansem, Hook, Peter Pan, Oogie Boogie, Pinocchio, his mother, his father, his home, Destiny Island, the Darksides, Jack the Skellington, Jafar--everyone and everything from his adventure.

Heartless after Heartless stacked themselves into his mind, and he moaned and gasped in pain. And suddenly it was him that he saw, dressed in the Heartless garments he wore when he was overcome with indescribable power. His Heartless self smirked.

Riku suddenly came back to the world, gasping as he jumped up. He felt disgusted at all the Heartless that had latched themselves onto him. He quickly brushed himself off, feeling their dirty hands touching him. He glared at his arms and body in disgust.

He finally came back to his senses and noticed he was back at the shrine in the world he had currently landed on. He was greeted, however, with three people hovering around him. They all shared shocked looks.

"Damn, man! What's your problem?" the one with the greased back hair exclaimed. "Nearly made me jump outta my skins!"

"Yuusuke," the red-haired pretty boy warned. "Calm down. He probably had a bad dream." he looked at Riku. "Please excuse him." he requested. He finally smiled. "You must be Master Genkai's guest. I'm Shuichi Minamino." he bowed politely. "This is Yuusuke Urameshi. And this is Kazuma Kuwabara."

Riku stared at them, trying to see the light in their hearts. 'All of them are pure…though Shuichi does have his moments of darkness…' he thought. He sighed. 'I was strong-hearted…by what happened to me…?' he decided against trying to think more on the subject and looked up at them. "R…Riku."

"Riku, eh? How old are ya? Eleven? You shouldn't have been drinking!" the one named Kuwabara scolded.

The silence that greeted him was obviously uncomfortable. Shuichi smiled. "So…? Shall we all go inside? I'm sure Yukina must have prepared a wonderful meal and we really shouldn't wait for it to get cold!" he chuckled in a somewhat nervous manner as he began walking towards the dojo.


	3. Those Without Hearts

DXP: Thanks again to Amber Komsaki! Disclaimer on first chapter.

* * *

**_Remorse_**

_"Remorse is impotence, it will sin again. Only repentance is strong, it can end everything."_  
_--Henry Miller_

The three began walking towards the dojo, and Riku kept his head down as he stood there. He felt vulnerable, and he definitely needed to figure it all out. What had scared him the most was Ansem, and he hated himself for it.

An arm wrapping around his neck broke him from his thoughts. He looked startled as he was greeted with a smiling Yuusuke. "Howdy." he said. "Ain't ya gonna join us?"

Riku glared as he struggled out of Yuusuke's hold. Usually he was the one putting Sora into headlocks and dragging him along. Now it was the other way around, and Riku didn't like it one bit. "Agh…" he growled. Despite the fact it hurt, Riku also gained some entertainment in this and was actually able to throw Yuusuke off.

He placed a complacent smile on as he crossed his hands. "I'm not as weak as I look." he said.

Even still, Shuichi and Kuwabara couldn't hold back their shocked gasps. "Yuusuke…please tell me you let him flip you!" Shuichi begged.

Yuusuke cracked a smile, "Of course!" he said. Even still, he couldn't help but grit his teeth. He had never thought that this boy could hold so much power. "It was just a huge test!"

Riku frowned. 'I…Something doesn't feel right. This boy…isn't all human.' his head turned sharply. 'Shuichi…isn't human. Kazuma is the only human, and even he is on the edge with his abilities…' he thought.

"Let's get going, Urameshi!" Kuwabara shouted, already inside. It was obvious he liked Yukina, as he bounced around and offered to help Yukina insider. His voice carried.

The rest of the boys walked in and sat in the room that Riku had been staying in. They sat at the table that Riku had examined before and placed the television on.

"Come on, Ku--Shuichi!" Yuusuke shouted, "Wrestlemania's on!" The red-head just shook his head. "You know I've been waiting for this gardening show."

Riku watched silently. He wanted to ask questions about the box, but he feared that they would think of him in a more strange manner then before. He heard Yuusuke sigh and look over at him. "Is there something you wanna watch?" he asked, knowing that his fox friend would be polite and allow the channel to change. Anything was better then gardening in Yuusuke's mind.

The grease punk's eyes pleaded Wrestlemania, but Riku didn't know what to say or how to respond. He shrugged nonchalantly, wondering how Sora would handle this situation.

"And there you have it." Shuichi replied smugly.

Yuusuke sighed in defeat, then turned to Riku once more. He wasn't going to watch gardening. "How old are you, anyways?" he asked.

"15." The silver-haired boy didn't miss a beat in answering the question. Yuusuke raised an eyebrow. "You live around here?"

Riku shook his head. "I live…" he looked up with his eyes, as if pretending to remember. He was, in truth, looking towards the sky, despite the fact the ceiling was in his way. "Far, far away."

"Ah. Europe? America? Probably Russia, the way your skin and hair are…" Yuusuke mumbled, all the while confusing Riku even more. "Your Japanese is fluent, though. That's good. Easier to understand you that way, eh?"

Riku looked away. "Whatever…" he mumbled.

"So…you got a girlfriend?" Yuusuke asked, puckering up his lips in a mock kiss. Shuichi rolled his eyes. "Shush, Yuusuke." But the teen paid no attention and looked on at Riku, waiting for his answer. The silver-haired teen just sighed, "No. She, ah…was taken from right under my nose… By my best friend."

Yuusuke made a 'che' sound. "What a pity. That was pretty heartless of him, huh?"

Riku froze, before a small, pitiful smile was placed on his lips. "Heartless…no, that was me, I suppose. Considering he had held her heart from the beginning…and my searching was futile." he bit his bottom lip before releasing it slowly. "I didn't understand it at first, and I still don't. Not all the way. It was just destiny, I suppose. The reason for a greater good."

Yuusuke frowned, but nodded knowingly. He didn't seem to understand this peer. He was like Shuichi, but there was no demonic aura around Riku to prove that he had lived for hundreds of years. This wisdom was gained by hands-on experience that obviously made a large impact to his life. He was accepting of it, too, meaning he also had patience. "Do you think you'll ever get her back?" he asked as Kuwabara walked into the room, setting down the tray of green tea and cups.

Riku shook his head. "I tried to save her heart." he admitted, not caring for letting it slip. They wouldn't know what he was talking about, anyways. "But I was looking in all the wrong places. And when I did get an opportunity--" he froze. His heart began to beat fast, and he stood up. He sensed them--the Heartless!

"Dammit!" he shouted. The Heartless weren't suppose to have followed him! Hell, they weren't even suppose to know where he was! Why would they follow him? Why did Maleficent and Ansem and the Heartless follow him! He let his body stay still for a moment, trying to sense it. Apparently the other three could sense it, too, and they also leaped up.

"I've never sensed that type of aura before!" Kuwabara shouted. Riku made a break for the screen and shoved it open. He saw a black blur moving everyway, trying to take down a Darkside within the middle of the woods. Riku cursed under his breath before taking off in a run towards it.

He hopped along the trees at speed that only Shuichi could rival at the moment. His jumps were long and high, and definitely not human.

They small rushed journey took only a couple of minutes, but that was enough for the black blur to be on his knees in exhaustion. Shuichi ran towards him, shouting, "Hiei!"

"I can't touch him." Hiei explained. "My sword does not work."

Riku stepped up, noticing this. "Of course…only the weapons that have obtained the power of the Heartless…no--of Kingdom Hearts--can touch the Darkside." he replied. He felt his Keychain and drew some of his energy at it, and the Oblivion formed in his hand.

Riku leapt onto the Darkside, scratching it with his Oblivion. "You're not so tough as what I've fought." he said smugly. "even Kairi would be able to take you down."

The taunt fell upon deaf ears, but Riku didn't mind. He continued to hack and slash, not caring for his audience.

The Darkside fell to its knees, allowing energy to go into his stomach before he shot balls of energy out. Riku smirked, prepared as he made a dash around the area. Hiei and Shuichi managed to run around the attacks as well. Yuusuke, however, allowed himself to back up towards the forest, taking Kuwabara with him. They didn't know that the energy would follow them until it hit the ground. They didn't know that this Darkside's energy wouldn't go out until it hit at least one person.

Only Riku knew, and he also knew that he was going to have to sacrifice himself to make the Darkside go away. Its limit was reached, but it still had to hit one of them. Taking a deep breath, Riku ran towards Yuusuke and Kuwabara and braced himself for the energy ball. It hit him square in the chest and Riku was thrown back right into Yuusuke. 

The silver-haired teen slowly got up, stumbling a bit before regaining his senses. "Damn…" he mumbled. A smirk appeared on his face, and he steadied himself before running back at the Darkside. He jumped onto his arm and ran up it, getting to the Darkside's head before he began to slice and dice once more. He saw the Green balls sail out of the Darkside and fall around it's body, but Riku didn't bother to go down and collect them. He gave one final swing.

Finally the Darkside sank back to the ground in it's own lake of darkness before it all evaporated.

Riku stared at the spot the Darkside had shrunk into before he felt the tip of a sword on his neck. "Who are you, and how did you kill that monster?" the voice asked, dripping with venom.

"That monster is a by-product of the Heartless." Riku explained, his eyes shutting. He let his Oblivion weapon return to it's Keychain form. "I don't know why they're here, and why now…" he began to ramble to himself, "The King and I shut Kingdom Hearts. All the Heartless were inside it…is there a Keyhole in this world as well? That would mean we would need Sora here to seal it. It could be that someone opened Kingdom Hearts again…but then where did the King go…and what world am I on? Can I get off using a Gummi Ship? Do they even have those here?" he sighed, "Dammit…"

"Whoa, kid, backup." Yuusuke said. "I don't know what kind of trick this is, but it isn't very funny. Where are you really from?"

"Destiny Island." Riku said. "I mean…that's the closet place I can remember for being considered a home." he smiled mentally at the thoughts of Kairi and Sora and himself drawing in the cave. "I'm from a different world."

"And what was that thing you just killed?" Shuichi asked. Riku studied him, "That was called Darkside. It's one of the…larger Heartless."

"And the Heartless?" Hiei asked.

"Those without hearts."


	4. Fireflies

DXP: Thanks again to Amber Komasaki! Disclaimer on first chapter.

About time, ne? Sorry. I was kinda on a writer's block and then I was just so bored I started writing again! YAY! Unfortunately...my computed died. Well, it won't turn on. I don't know if my stories are sfe or not...I hope they are. Some chapters for "The Adventful" are on there...which is why I haven't updated that story in awhile. I hope it gets fixed...

* * *

**_Remorse_**

_"Will showing remorse allow acceptance? Maybe. Maybe not."  
-- _Unknown

"Really?" Yuusuke asked sarcastically. "Listen, you mind not being such a smartass?"

Riku glared, "Don't believe me? Fine. Whatever." He shrugged nonchalantly, his gaze on Yuusuke never failing. "Be warned they'll keep coming, though." He turned on his feet, deciding to walk away to not cause a scene any larger then this one. He knew this was hard, but he knew it would be harder for this world, as it couldn't defend itself.

Yuusuke watched the silver-haired boy leave before he turned to his own group of friends. "Well, ain't this peachy?" he question, his voice not losing its sarcasm. He was showing his obvious impatience by putting a hand on his waist. He scratched his head with his free hand. "So much for being drunk." He mumbled bitterly.

Kuwabara didn't pay attention to the greasy-hair boy. "I've never seen a demon that looked like that." He explained aloud.

"That's because it was no demon. Didn't you sense a foreign aura?" Hiei replied. It took all the short jagan-holder had to not pass an insult to the carrot-top psychic.

Shuichi decided to speak after his moment of silence. "He called them Heartless. Considering that monster had a hole in the shape of a heart, I suppose the name is rather fitting." He hummed a bit in thought. "Hmm…although it may be difficult, we should probably consider believing in him."

Yuusuke nodded. "It just bugs the hell out of me that I'm being kept in the dark." he paused. "Wait a minute…that was why he tensed up when I called his friend heartless…"

"When did you do that?" Kuwabara asked. Shuichi remained stoic, "Yes…and when he was talking about how he tried to save _her_ heart…"

Hiei resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Ok…well, who's going to talk to the baby about this?"

Yuusuke put his hands in his pockets, then let out a low, small whistle. "Yeah…that's right. He'll probably need to hear this – especially since it's rather threatening…"

"In that case, I'll go talk to him." Hiei said. Shuichi blinked in surprise, "Oh? You've never been on to volunteer to talk to anyone. What's the occasion?"

Hiei gave a small glare at the redhead before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a strange object. "This. He might know what it is," he explained. In his hand rested a silver crown that was only about an inch high and about one-centimeter thin. It appeared to have belonged on a necklace, but the chain that had come with it wasn't anywhere in sight. "I found it on the ground as I did my rounds around the dojo." The demon explained. "Normally I would have left it alone, but I felt something coming from it. A strange aura."

"Keyblade master." Kuwabara suddenly said upon seeing the crown. The entire group looked at him and he blinked, "Huh? Where did that come from?"

"Of course. You probably connected with the waves of the aura attached to this crown." Shuichi replied. He picked it up. "Can you see anything else?" he asked, placing the crown in Kuwabara's hand.

The psychic shut his eyes. "Tired…" he said. "I feel tired…like I'm just waking up…" he opened his eyes, "Blue and brown…" he continued. "But that's it." he quickly placed it back into Hiei's hand. "Not this…but the person who owned it…really powerful. Mega energy!"

* * *

He had leapt from tree to tree, from a sturdy branch to a brown, flimsy one. It was quicker then walking, even with all the dangerous obstacles that the forest provided. He had run from strange creatures, insane vines, and flowers that tried to slam their teeth on him.

He had reached the dojo and instantly had jumped onto the roof. He then shut his eyes. "This isn't right…If the Heartless continue to arise, I might have to give in to that damn dark power again." Riku sighed, placing a hand on his head before letting it run through his hair. His eyes opened enough so he could stare at his feet.

He raised his head, looking into the far distance or the city. Large stacks of buildings that never ended and that reached out for miles. The sky seemed to actually be reachable from the amazing height from some of the central buildings. He could hear sirens in the distance, and he birds barely came in through the heavy noises of other things.

Riku sighed again. Although all this was foreign to him, he knew he had to get out of this shrine. He was surrounded by people he couldn't trust, but at least out _there_ he would be able to remained a stranger and help save people if they needed it with the ability to escape questionings.

He jumped from the roof and began jogging down the hundreds of steps that led to the streets below. Riku never knew why people had so much fascination with stairs. Either way, the silver-haired teen knew it was just a small, easily passed obstacle.

When he reached the end, he found himself face to face with a large amount of people and cars. The cars were on a sort of black pavement that kept them on track. Young girls wore school uniforms that resembled the ones he saw back on the main islands that Destiny Islands floated around. Grown men and woman wore black and white business suits, looking as official as they could. People had their cellphones flipped out, chatting on them or texting or just looking for something. Of course, Riku had no idea what they were, as he had never seen portable communicational devices.

There were signs in Japanese everywhere, expressing what the stores sold or what a company's name was. However, strangely enough to him, there were no signs such as "Weapons" or "Items or "Accessories." The most popular were food and fashion shopping places.

Before he could do much, Riku found himself engulfed in a large crowd of moving people, Surprised, but not wanting to cause a scene, Riku walked with the people. However, there were so many people and mixtures of destinations that by the time the crowds had thinned out and he had stopped changing directions, he found himself lost. Nothing looked familiar to him.

Despite his usual confident attitude, Riku couldn't help but let his body turn in all direction, his face losing color. Although he had wanted to get out of the shrine, he had wanted to stay close to it. Something about a small comfort zone was within Riku, and he didn't want to lose it. But there was nothing in sight other than the giant skyscrapers that littered the sky. It was getting darker now, and neon lights flashed and buzzed all around him.

He knew it was no use to get upset. He had to walk, no matter what the direction. That inspired him to not hyperventilate and move on.

After what seemed like an hour, Riku found himself face to face with a fence around a park. He climbed over it, finding it peaceful enough to calm his needs. Inside the fence were a large koi pond, a few benches, and a blockade from the noise outside. He could hear the birds that were still awake, and he could actually breathe. It was too smoggy beyond the fence.

Riku led himself to a bench by the pond and sat, deciding he had to think. He needed to figure out how to get home. Before he had had the King to help him, but the King was nowhere in sight. He didn't even know where Sora was, or if Sora was even all right. And Kairi…

Riku dropped his eyes, feeling overwhelmingly tired. Too much had happened today. He let his eyes droop even more and the koi pond began to blur orange and black. The small amount of fireflies seemed to dissolve into the scenery.

"Fireflies…close your eyes… They flicker dim then die; not true stars, just fading lies…" he whispered, his voice giving off a small tune of how it went. He remembered how he use to sing that song to Kairi and Sora when they spent the night on Destiny Islands and the two couldn't get to sleep. It was a sad little song, and often times Kairi would sniffle, trying not to cry when she heard it. She had never known why, but just the words had always made her sad. Seeing that, half was an excuse to comfort her, and the other half was because Riku enjoyed that small song.

He sighed, deciding to lie down on the bench. His feet hung off the side, but he put his arms around himself to keep him warm and somewhat comfortable. He turned his body into the bench and shut his eyes, tired and exhausted.

* * *

"He's not here." Shuichi said, "His aura is so low that I can't sense him, either." He looked at the small group in front of him. "I don't know where he could have gone. I feel like he's just disappeared."

"He didn't disappear." Genkai responded, her expression never changing. She had gotten back just in time to find Riku missing and to hear the story. It had taken a while, so it was now nighttime and cloudless, but she had made sure that her companions kept in order. Botan and Koenma stood beside her, both keeping notes in their heads.

"The kid probably just went back to the city." The old lady continued. "He'll come back to us if he's ready."

Yuusuke frowned. With the way the silver-haired teen moved he seemed to know a lot. But he held that look of confusion, whether or not the kid meant it. Plus, Yuusuke knew that Riku wasn't from here and was new to the customs of Japan. "Come on, Grandma! He's probably getting beat up. He's foreign! He doesn't know what's safe!"

It was Genaki's turn to frown. "Trust me, Yuusuke, he can defend himself."

The sky, which held nothing except its darkness, suddenly began swirling and mixing dark red, blue, green, and black clouds. Things – strange creatures – rose from the ground, and although it was only about ten, they were a very surprising and abrupt situation.

Everyone got into their defense positions, only Botan and Koenma got onto the oar of the cheerful Grim Reaper. Genkai and Yuusuke began towards the black creatures and Shuichi took out his rose whip. Kuwabara readied his Spirit Sword, and Hiei stood still, his sword in his hand.

Yuusuke ran at one of the creatures, throwing his fist at it. However, his hand passed straight through, and he stumbled over his feet. Fortunately he was able to balance himself enough to not fall, but he was ticked. Genkai had tried to kick a creature but her foot passed through as well. "Damnit!" she shouted.

Seeing that, the last three could do nothing but glare and look threatening.

"We can't hit them." Kuwabara growled. Shuichi nodded. "A large heart shape on their chest…these must be a form of Heartless, too. We'll need the assistance of Riku."

"I hate being useless like this!" Yuusuke shouted, slamming his fist into his other hand. He looked up at the spirit guide. "Botan! We need you to look from the sky! We'll cover the grounds!"

Botan nodded, "All right!" she shouted before taking off, Koenma going with her. The toddler couldn't contain himself, "We don't even know what he looks like!" he shouted at the blue haired girl. She, in response, just chuckled dumbfounded.

Yuusuke backed towards the shrine steps before he turned and began sprinting down them.

"Damnit."


End file.
